Project by

About this project

Cucaranchula is a combination of the words cockroach and tarantula but the film won’t be nearly as creepy as it sounds!

The story is about a young woman by the name of Paige Turner
who dreams of being a writer. One night, she invites a pompous author by the name of
Clive Bradley to have dinner with her and critique her new book. He gladly
accepts her invitation, only to tell her that she’s the worst writer that he’s
ever seen. Paige is crushed by his remarks, and is about to give up on herself...

However, Paige shares her apartment with some sort
of…creature. It’s a combination of a tarantula and a jumping spider, but with
more personality. Although Paige
doesn’t even know that this thing exists, it manages to convince her, however
accidentally, to believe in herself. It also manages to teach Clive a
well-deserved lesson in humility.

Besides being fun, quirky, and thoroughly entertaining, The Cucaranchula also has a message: Don't give up, no matter what. Work hard and believe in yourself, and always be kind to spiders.

However, in order to get The Cucaranchula creepin' around, we're going to need your help.

It’s important to have complete creative control over the
environment, especially since the Creature will be brought to life using stop motion
animation. So, we’re going to need to build a set. We’ll be extremely frugal,
but we’ll still need approximately $2,000.00.

$1,000 will go to any necessary compensation, such as
transportation costs for the cast and crew, and any necessary replacements to the set, costumes, or
props that we may need.

$750 will go to Creature Effects. The creature designer/ animator is extremely talented and resourceful, but she'll still need funds to make sure
that the star of The Cucaranchula can creep and crawl to its
fullest extent.

$950 will go to feeding the cast and the crew. Good
filmmaking requires a lot of energy, and we’ll need to be able to keep that up! (Luckily, the Creature won't need to eat anything, since it's just a puppet.)

$300 will go towards wardrobe, props, and makeup.

Anything else we're able to raise will go towards making your rewards as awesome as possible.

The total only comes to $5,000.00. Everyone involved in The Cucaranchula has made incredible, award-winning films with very low budgets. Imagine what we'll be able to do with only $5,000.00.

Once again, this will only be possible with your help. So overcome your fear of spiders, and give The Cucaranchula a chance to jump from the page onto the screen!

FAQ

Because it will be a fun, quirky and inspiring project that is destined to get exposure at screenings and film festivals. Aside from being screened throughout the state of Wisconsin, writer/director Kate Balsley has exhibited her films and videos in film festivals from Los Angeles to New York, and from London to New Zealand. (check out her website at http://www.lipstickrobot.com.) The cast and crew consists of highly talented faculty, students, and alumni from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, so this project is sure to succeed!

If you contribute, you'll get amazing rewards and a chance to get your name in the credits of the film. This works out even better if you have your own business because we'll happily promote it on the Facebook page, the blog, and the credits of "The Cucaranchula."

Digital technology has worked wonders, but we personally feel that it can't quite match the quality and unique characteristic of stop-motion animation. The creature must look as if it exists in the same space and time as the human characters, not merely added in post-production using snazzy computer software. Besides, stop-motion animation will be wonderfully reminiscent of those awesome 1950s science fiction films, as well as the early work of Tim Burton and acclaimed animator Jan Svankmajer.

Girls are stereotypically afraid of spiders. We want to challenge that assumption, because women are a lot smarter, braver, and stronger than they are typically given credit for. We also want the spider to symbolize the challenge that many aspiring artists face, as well as the fear of criticism and failure that many people find to be so crippling.

Rewards

Pledge $5 or more

Donate at least $5.00 and you’ll get a Spider Bite! Well, not a real spider bite! You’ll be thanked on the Facebook page for “The Cucaranchula.”

Estimated delivery:May 2012

You selected

Pledge $10 or more

22 backers

Donate $10.00 and you’ll get a Spider Bite! You'll also be invited to any parties that we hold for the film, such as the Wrap Party and/or the Premiere Party.

Estimated delivery:May 2012

You selected

Pledge $25 or more

32 backers

Donate at least $25.00 and you’ll get a Special Spider Bite, meaning that your name will be listed under "Special Thanks" in the credits of the film. You'll also be invited to the Wrap Party and/or the Premiere Party, and you'll receive a beautiful 11” by 17’” poster of the film!

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $50 or more

12 backers

A donation of at least $50.00 will get you all of the above, plus a packaged DVD of the film (with special features, no less!)

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $75 or more

10 backers
Limited (20 left of 30)

Donate $75.00 and not only will you get a Super Spider Bite, an invite, a poster, and a DVD of the film, but you’ll get original artwork from acclaimed illustrator John Will Balsley. He drew the awesome illustrations in the video, and you can also check out his website: http://www.jwbalsleycomix.com/

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $150 or more

9 backers

A donation of $150.00 will get you all of this great stuff, and also an autographed photo of The Cucaranchula itself!

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $500 or more

0 backers

$500 dollars and you’re listed in the credits as Associate Producer. You also get all the great stuff I just mentioned. Plus, we’ll arrange for all of the spiders in the Greater Milwaukee area to spell out a personalized Thank You in one giant web.

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

You selected

Pledge $1,000 or more

0 backers

$1,000 gets you all of the above, plus credits as Executive Producer on the film. It’s much more than just seeing your name in the credits. As Executive Producer you’re eligible to receive free passes to many of the film festivals that “The Cucaranchula” might possibly be screened in, including the Cannes Court Metráge. Imagine yourself at the Cannes Film Festival. Pretty sweet, eh?

Estimated delivery:Dec 2012

Funding period

Apr 22, 2012 - May 22, 2012
(30 days)

Eureka! You've found our little secret.

Sign up for our Happening email for all the inside info about arts and culture in the Kickstarter universe and beyond.